Federal Parent PLUS Loans

Application instructions - Federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate students

For more information about this loan program including interest rates, see PLUS Loans.

Application Steps

Every year, the student and parent must submit a (Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). One parent borrower must complete all of the PLUS Loan steps below. 

Calculate Your Loan Amount

After we process your FAFSA, we will send a Financial Aid Notification which will explain the maximum PLUS loan amounts you can borrow if you choose to borrow a PLUS loan.

Funds Needed: You can borrow PLUS loans to help pay your TU charges and your other living and personal expenses. To calculate how much you need to borrow for this academic year, compare your total grants/scholarships to the estimated Cost of Attendance Budget on your award notification or review our current rates for tuition, room, and board. Then subtract your other aid and student loans to determine your draft PLUS loan request amount. 

Annual PLUS Loan Limits

For 2026-2027, new borrowers must follow the existing remaining Cost of Education limit and the new annual and aggregate PLUS limits. Prior borrowers who meet the PLUS legacy/grandfathering rules just can't exceed their remaining Cost of Education limit.

For all PLUS loan borrowers, your total annual PLUS loans can't exceed your remaining Cost of Education Limit. 

Your Cost of Education Budget
- Your Total Other Aid Received
= Your Remaining Cost of Education Limit

New Annual & Aggregate PLUS Loan Limits

For all new TU students for Fall 2026 and beyond, your annual PLUS loans also can't exceed $20,000 per year and your total aggregate PLUS Loans can't exceed $65,000. Note: You can't borrow $20,000 in PLUS Loans per year for more than three years because of the $65,000 aggregate limit.

If you want to borrow more than these PLUS loan limits, you can apply for private loans or a combination of PLUS and private loans. Carefully compare the PLUS and private loan terms to determine which loan is best for you. Federal PLUS loans are better for many borrowers, but if you have a good credit rating, the private loan lenders might offer you a better interest rate.

Legacy/Grandfathered PLUS Loan Limits

PLUS Loan limits have not changed for anyone the the Fall 2025 or Spring 2026 terms. For Summer 2026 classes, the old rules will apply through at least July 1, 2026. 

For 2026-2027, based on draft federal regulations, current TU students who received federal loan funds at TU from previous Federal Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Student Loans or federal Parent PLUS Loans that were disbursed to TU before July 1, 2026, who are still pursuing the same bachelor's degree, and didn't withdraw from TU should remain eligible to continue borrowing PLUS loans under the old legacy PLUS Limits (Remaining Cost of Education) for up to three additional academic years or until they complete that bachelor's degrees, whichever comes first.

Loan Fees:  For loans with first disbursements between 10/1/20 and 10/1/26, the federal government will deduct a 4.228% loan fee from the amount you borrow. 

Final Loan Amount:  Adjust your draft loan request amount to compensate for the loan fees that will be deducted from your loan disbursements. 

High Debt Warning

The Federal PLUS Loan program usually offers lower borrowing costs than private student loans and includes several additional benefits. However, because the PLUS Loan credit check process only checks for a bad credit history and doesn't evaluate your ability to afford your loan payments based on your debt to income ratio, it is easy to get approved for more than you can afford to repay. To evaluate how much you can afford to borrow, please carefully explore these and other resources.

PLUS Loan Application Instructions

The 2026-2027 PLUS process won't open until April.

To apply for Spring 2026 or Summer 2026 PLUS loans, follow these instructions,

  1. Go to studentaid.gov/plus-app.
  2. The parent borrower must log in with the parent's Federal Student Aid ID.
  3. Choose Request a Direct PLUS Loan and complete the application.
  4. A few days after you submit this application, you should receive an email reply with your credit check results.
  5. If you don’t receive a reply, check your status at studentaid.gov/plus-app.

Rebate Options:  To avoid rebate check delays: Under Credit Balance Options, choose "The Student" (Parent rebate checks take several weeks longer).

Loan Amount:  Choose your loan amount for this whole school year (Fall and Spring). This amount will be evenly split between the fall and spring semesters.  Review your estimated costs and expenses.

26-27 Loan Period:  

  • Fall 2026 and Spring 2027: 8/2026 to 5/2027

Parent Master Promissory Note (MPN)

  1. New parent borrowers must also visit studentaid.gov/mpn/ to complete a PLUS MPN for Parents.
  2. Repeat parent borrowers should confirm that their MPN is already on file by visiting studentaid.gov/fsa-id/sign-in then My Loan Documents → Completed MPNs.
  3. Four to six weeks after the parent completes these steps and the student has registered for classes, your PLUS funds will appear on your TU bill as Anticipated Aid.

Viewing Your TU Bill

Tips and Common Errors

  • All borrowers need a valid MPN and need to reapply annually.
  • Pay careful attention to which fields want student identity data and which fields want parent borrower data.
  • Enter full legal names for student and parent borrower.
  • One parent is the borrower and that parent must complete all application steps (MPN and Application/Request).
  • The Loan Period can never exceed one academic year.

Rebates When Two Parents Borrow

If two divorced/separated parents borrow separate PLUS loans for the same student, and the total semester aid exceeds the semester charges and creates any aid rebates, TU can't control how aid rebates will be distributed between the two parents.  To avoid rebate problems, when borrowing the loan on the federal website, both parents should specify that the rebate should be issued to the student, and then the student and parents must coordinate how those rebate funds will be managed by the student or redistributed between the parents.

PLUS Loan Denial Options

If the federal loan processor denied your PLUS loan because of an adverse credit history, you have the following options: appeal the denial, appeal with an endorser, request additional unsubsidized loans.

Appeal the Denial

If you feel the reason that the PLUS loan was denied is no longer valid, you may appeal the credit decision with Federal Student Aid. 

  1. Parent borrower must log into studentaid.gov/appeal-credit/ with their FSA ID. 
  2. Under PLUS Loan Process select Document Extenuated Circumstances.
  3. Submit documentation showing the denial reason is no longer valid. If approved, Federal Student Aid will submit an approved PLUS loan to the financial aid office. 

Appeal With an Endorser

If you are unable to successfully appeal the credit decision, you may also find an endorser to co-sign your PLUS loan application. Choose an endorser with a strong credit history. 

  1. Your Endorser must log into studentaid.gov/endorser-addendum/ with their own FSA ID .
  2. Under PLUS Loan Process select Endorse a PLUS Loan.
  3. Enter the borrower's last name and the endorser code/award identification number the parent borrower received when denied the loan. 
  4. Fill out and submit Endorser Addendum.

Request Additional Unsubsidized Loans

If your parent is unable to appeal the credit decision or use an endorser, the student will become eligible to borrow additional unsubsidized loans based on the PLUS denial. 

  1. Submit a PLUS Denial — Request for Additional Unsub, found at Forms & Online Services. 
  2. Students with 0-59 completed credits can request an additional $4,000 in unsubsidized loans for the financial aid year ($2,000/semester). 
  3. Students with at least 60 completed credits can request an additional $5,000 in unsubsidized loans for the financial aid year ($2,500/semester).